The present invention is directed to an improved method and apparatus for the rapid search and co-display of graphics and tabular data for both local and distributed computer systems. The apparatus and method of the present invention rapidly selects and displays related graphical and textual information via a Graphical User Interface (GUI) from both a Graphical Relationship Database (GRDB) and tabular database. An operator enters a query or option request in which previously encoded and stored graphics elements are selected, via a control program, from a local mass storage device and displayed with related textual information on a local display.
Existing systems which utilize a central unit with multi-user terminals connected via conventional telephone lines cannot be upgraded to provide graphics and multi-tasking displays. The implementation of a GRDB and a GUI on a conventional network relying on a communication link over existing telephone lines is presently unfeasible due to the volume of data and the limited data transmission rates. The highest rate feasible over telephone lines is presently 9600 baud. Under presently available technology, it requires two minutes to transmit a standard 300 dpi scan of a photograph via standard communication lines. Also, the frequent screen updates required by a GUI would strain this type of data transmission. The potential bottleneck is thus created because graphics data is not on-site, but rather must be transmitted via conventional telephone lines from a remote location.
The system of the present invention makes a network implementation incorporating a GRDB feasible, without the limitations posed by conventional telephone transmission lines. First, the bulk of the data (typically over one gigabyte of graphics data), including pictorial representations, and possibly, prerecorded tabular or other information is stored locally. The present invention thus effectively creates two linked databases, the latter of which is stored on-site so as to provide instantaneous graphics responsive to the character based tabular data which is easy to quickly transmit via conventional communication lines. This on-site storage can be provided using existing mass storage technology such as a WORM (Write Once Read Many) drive, a hard disk drive, or other large storage device. In an alternative embodiment, both the graphical and tabular data are stored on-site.
The PC (personal computer) market has long had a need for a system incorporating graphical data within a distributed database. A graphically oriented user interface for multi-distributed, interactive local use with coordination and distribution provided by an interactive host and network system would be a major advancement, and would greatly improve the efficiency of end users thus providing them with a considerable advantage over users who do not implement such a system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system which incorporates a GUI for selecting database options from a remote host computer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system which incorporates transmitted tabular data in conjunction with a locally stored graphics database.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a system in which a remote host computer processes a query from a local computer system, transmits tabular data to the local computer, which then selects associated graphical data from a locally stored GRDB.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a system in which a remote host processes a query from a local computer system, transmits an address command to the local computer, which then selects both tabular and graphical data from a local database responsive to the address command.
The method and apparatus of the present invention provide intelligent selection and display of graphics data based on a analysis by the system as to what graphics elements or images are required to satisfy the operator query, and how these elements are to be displayed in conjunction with related tabular (text) data. This method further permits the display of high resolution graphics on an inexpensive workstation, (such as the IBM Personal Computer) since each image is stored in toto, rather than generated for each operator selection.
The control program enables the networking of large, distributed databases because the graphics data is not transmitted from a host, and a low speed (9600 baud or less) data communications can be used. In a campus or local environment this would preferably comprise fiber optic (FDDI) connecting a host and multiple end users and/or a host and local computers connected via 9600 baud connections over existing phone lines. The method of the present invention is easy to use, preferably through the use of a graphical user interface (GUI), driven by a combination of a mouse and keyboard for data input and manipulation.